10 Spicy, Chile-Spiked Beers We Love

10 Spicy, Chile-Spiked Beers We Love

Spite is a cruel sentiment, a calculated desire to insult, annoy, or hurt. But human beings are strange creatures. Some readily seek out pain, finding pleasure where others experience tears. And then there are those who delight in doling out spite, such as the delicious maliciously crew at Michigan’s Founders Brewing.
While the long-running Grand Rapids brewery may be best known for its citrusy Centennial IPA, compulsively quaffable All Day IPA, and barrel-aged Kentucky Breakfast Stout, it takes a certain pride in Spite—a rotating series of pale ales spiked with peppers and occasionally aged in oak barrels. The brewery has experimented with just about every chile ripened under the sun, from easy-going poblanos to spicy serranos and lip-incinerating habaneros.
“If you’re going to make something called Habanero Spite, it has to be hot,” says Jason Heystek, the “lead guitar” of production planning, who often sources chiles from farmers’ markets. “You might only be only able to drink two ounces, but it’ll be an interesting two ounces.”
As Americans increasingly cotton to the combustible flavors of Thai and Sichuan fare—not to mention Sriracha—craft brewers have also embraced the flames, creating cold beers with serious burn. In Illinois, Bent River crafts the Jalapeño Pale Ale, while Oregon’s Rogue makes the smoky, amber-toned Chipotle Ale. Elsewhere, Colorado-based Twisted Pine makes its Ghost Face Killah with dangerously hot Bhut Jolokias (a.k.a. “ghost pepper”), while Ohio’s Elevator Brewing ups the ante by also adding Trinidad Moruga Scorpion to its Ghost Scorpion Lager. “We…tell people not to drink the stuff,” Elevator owner Dick Stevenstold the Akron Beacon Journal.
But not all pepper beers must be gimmicky dares. Habaneros have an inherent sweetness, which Founders uses in its strong, salsa-inspired Mango Magnifico. “You get this bright, fresh fruitiness and just a bit of heat,” Heystek says. “If you’re not focused on making a balanced, drinkable thing, then what the hell are you doing?”
Here are 10 chile-fueled beers worth the burn. As always, let the drinker beware.